we all love to indulge in a little chocolate at Christmas and Easter so
it's no surprise that these are the peak times to see chocolate poisoning in dogs
thankfully though most owners are aware chocolate is toxic but just how
poisonous is chocolate to dogs and cats well stick around to find out more
Hi I'm Dr. Alex Avery from OurPetsHealth.com helping you and your pet to live
healthier happier lives chocolate poisoning is by far the most common
poisoning in dogs in terms of calls to the vet with people wondering what to
do next as a result it's is actually uncommon
for serious life-threatening toxicity to occur as most dogs are seen for
treatment long before they are truly in danger make no mistake though
chocolate definitely has the potential to kill it doesn't even need to take
that much for toxic signs to be shown it all depends on how much of the
poisonous ingredient theobromine is in the type of chocolate eaten now white
chocolate for all intents and purposes is harmless it only contains really tiny
amounts of this substance milk chocolate has a small risk of poisoning 14 grams
of chocolate needs to be eaten per kilogram body weight before treatment is
recommended this equates to about one ounce of chocolate per pound body weight
but what does that mean well a small bar of milk chocolate weighing 45 grams or
one point six ounces would only be dangerous to a pet weighing less than
3.2 kilos or 7 pounds so our real tiny breed teacup dogs are a medium-sized
milk chocolate bar of a hundred grams they or three-and-a-half ounces is
poisonous for a seven and a half or fifteen point seven pound pooch and a
large 250 gram or nine ounce block of milk chocolate would be toxic to any dog
less than 18 kilograms or 40 pounds in weight if you've got a big dog they
would need to get into a big stash of milk chocolate to be in trouble
smaller dogs though you need to be careful dark chocolate however is a
different story this contains much higher levels of theobromine and while
the amount varies the recommendation is that a pet needs to be treated if they
eat more than three and a half grams per kilo body weight or a quarter of an
ounce per pound dark chocolate is four times more
poisonous than milk so now our small bar of chocolate is
dangerous to any pet weighing less than 13 kilograms or 28 pounds our medium
hundred gram bar is poisonous to any pooch under 28 kilograms or 63 pounds and
our large hundred gram bar will kill most pets anything under 72 kilograms or 160
pounds will need treatment cooking chocolate and cocoa powder can be more
toxic again but the number of dogs which eat these are thankfully very small
now these are average figures some dogs may be more sensitive than others to the
effects of chocolate this means it is important to look out for signs of
poisoning even if you don't think your pet has eaten enough to be dangerous
chocolate toxicity causes a range of problems including vomiting diarrhea a
rapid heart rate irregular heartbeat abdominal bloating tremors seizures and
even death thankfully most dog owners are very aware of the dangers of a
chocolate though so severe untreated poisoning is rare in most cases a quick
trip to the vet to make them sick is all that is required but if they ate
chocolate more than a few hours previously or if they ate a very large
amount above the toxic dose then they may need to be hospitalized and further
treatment may be needed activated charcoal may be given and this absorbs
the poison in the intestines preventing it from being absorbed now this is
especially important with chocolate as it can stay in the gut for quite a long
time several days in fact now cats ever the sensible ones can be poisoned just
as easily but because they can't taste sweet things they rarely eat enough to
be affected so if you want to learn about other poisonous foods for dogs and
cats or how to make your dog vomit then be sure to check out the video linked
here and in the description down below in the meantime make sure your chocolate
collection is well-hidden and securely out of reach of your furry friends
has your pet ever found your chocolate supply if you have any questions or if
there are a topic you'd like covered in future videos then please leave a
comment down below I'd really love to hear from you also if it's your first
time here consider subscribing and hitting that Bell notification to make
sure that you don't miss out on future content and allow me to continue to help
you and your pet to live a healthier happier life so until next time I'm Dr.
Alex from Our Pets Health, because they're family